Slowly, the fences will fall

A herd of bison moves through land controlled by the American Prairie Reserve in April. The reserve’s operators hope to create a free flow of wildlife — pronghorn antelope, predators and up to 10,000 bison — across 3 million acres or more. ﻿

MALTA, Mont. — The most dramatic feature of eastern Montana's prairie is a sea of grass fading into blue sky that stretches from horizon to horizon.

But, for more than a century, what has given the land definition have been fences — thousands of miles of barbed wire slicing across the prairie and pulled taut to keep in cattle.

Now on tens of thousands of acres of former ranchland those fences are being pulled down by a private conservation group funded by deep-pocketed philanthropists.

In the heart of Montana's cattle country, the American Prairie Reserve is assembling a wildlife preserve that could be larger than Connecticut and rival the West's great national parks.

This month, the Bozeman-based group announced its biggest step yet toward that goal with the purchase of the 150,000-acre South Ranch from families with a century-long tie to the land.

The deal more than doubles the amount of public and private property under the reserve's control north of the C.M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, 60 miles from the Canadian border.

Scientists familiar with the initiative describe it as an unprecedented attempt to restore an often-overlooked ecosystem that supports hundreds of species of birds, mammals, plants and insects.

The "endgame" is the free flow of wildlife — pronghorn antelope, predators and up to 10,000 bison — across 3 million acres or more of public and private land, organizers said.

That will take years of coordination with state and federal officials and neighbors, they said.

"I wouldn't just say as soon as we can we're going to rip out all the fences," said Scott Laird, the reserve's acquisition director. "That will eventually, slowly, occur."

Some local ranchers see the group's plans as an assault on their way of life, as families that stuck with the cattle business through generations of blizzard and drought are bought out.